A Terrible Trend in Terrorism
In primitive societies, desecrating the dead bodies of fallen enemies was a not uncommon practice. Often it was based on form of belief that what was done to the body would have implications in the afterlife. This is not an act associated with civilized people living in modern world. But recently Arab terrorist organizations have revived this form of mutilation.
We have all seen or heard about the beheading of Nick Berg. You have to wonder why he was beheaded rather than simply shot. Dead is dead, right? A bullet would have been just as effective. But not as shocking.
We have also seen the desecration of the bodies of the four contractors at Fallujah, where the charred remains were dragged through the streets by crowds and then hanged from the bridge.
Another incident occurred in Gaza City, where an Israeli Armored Personnel Carrier was destroyed by a bomb. The bomb set off the explosives inside the carrier, which was torn apart. Pieces of the carrier and of the soldiers inside were scattered over a 300-meter radius. Israeli forces attempted to recover the bodies, but were turned back by hostile fire. The assembled crowd then began to parade the body parts through the streets. Two masked terrorists, identified as members of the Islamic Jihad, then posed with what they said was the head of an Israeli soldier on a table. Al Jazeera broadcast the scene.
The terrorists made demands as a contingency for returning the bodies. "We possess the remains of your bodies that were thrown into the streets of Gaza. We have our demands to hand them over to the Zionist occupier," said a joint statement from Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which claimed the operation along with members of Hamas.
Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority attempted to stop the broadcast. The PA also called for the bodies to be returned to the Israeli government without condition. It should be noted that the bodies of the dead are considered sacred under both Islamic and Judaic law.
The Red Cross has tried to negotiate the return of the body parts. "We are in contact with all the Palestinian groups in an effort to recover the remains," Israeli Red Cross spokesman Uriel Massad said. "I hope this will be settled. There is an obligation to respect the bodies of soldiers."
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said "We are fighting a cruel, inhuman enemy, and we won't stop fighting it and hurting it no matter where it hides."
It should be noted that the Israelis had gone in to destroy two factories for making missiles. They used ground carriers instead of missiles in order to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties, according to the Israelis government.
Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested at an emergency meeting of the Israeli security cabinet that water and electricity supplies to Gaza be cut until the remains were returned. This is something that Israel could do pretty easily, but has not done for presumably humanitarian reasons.
So, we have terrorist groups in Iraq and in Gaza desecrating the dead. Al-Jazeera broadcasts the events throughout the Arab world. No one can believe that such acts can have any strategic value. Certainly, they are not likely to garner much sympathy from the West, hence Arafat's opposition to the broadcasts. I think even the staunchest defender of the Palestinians is going to have a hard time rationalizing this. "It is okay to display the head of an Israeli soldier because the Israelis blew up two missile factories," seems kind of weak to me. Why then are they doing these terrible things?
I have said in the past that the battle in Middle East is one for the hearts and minds of the West. The Arab states are not going to embark on yet another war to create a Palestinian homeland, so the most likely path is to have the West pressure Israel to make concessions. I am certainly not unbiased, but I do think that the Palestinians are pretty good at getting "positive" media coverage. The killing of Hamas leader Yassin, for example, received more coverage than the terrorist act that led to his assassination. It appears now that at least some Palestinians and Iraqi terrorists are giving up on the strategy of garnering sympathy from the West.
I fear the acts of such desperate men.